New England Revolution edged past Chicago Fire 2-1 at Soldier Field on Saturday evening, moving three points clear in the race for the top four. The hosts had taken the lead through Dor Turgeman, only to watch their advantage slip away in the space of three minutes. By then the match had taken a turn neither side expected.
Turgeman found the net in the 39th minute, finishing a move that had looked promising from the start. Chicago pressed forward with confidence, but Noah Allen picked up a yellow card in the 43rd minute as tensions rose. Sam Rogers was brought on at half-time, a change that did little to shift the momentum.
Peyton Miller levelled for the visitors in the 47th minute, a goal that came as the hosts were still settling back into their defensive shape. The Revolution then took control, with Maren Haile-Selassie scoring in the 62nd minute to put them ahead. Miller himself was cautioned in the 58th minute, a reminder that the game had grown physical.
Three substitutions arrived together for New England in the 55th minute — Jonathan Dean, Johan Arath Gomez and Puso Dithejane — and the trio worked to close the game out. Dániel Gazdag and Jackson Yueill came on together in the 69th minute, while Carles Gil and Peyton Miller were the latest pair to enter the action in the 88th minute. Sergio Oregel collected the fourth yellow card of the match in the 84th minute.
Chicago dominated possession at 61 per cent and registered 1.95 expected goals, yet their 1.73 expected assists told a different story. Seven shots on target yielded only one goal, while New England's two shots on target produced two finishes. The visitors created two big chances against one, and their goalkeeper made five saves to keep his side ahead.
And here's the thing — the result shifted the table in favour of the visitors. New England sit third with 43 points from 25 games, while Chicago remain fifth with 39 points after 24 matches. To be fair, we had tipped the hosts to win at 47 per cent confidence, but the Revolution refused to go away and made us eat our words.